


Retribution

by stormie92



Series: The Last of Us [1]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Blood, Death, Depression, F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Joel Miller x Reader - Freeform, Joel Miller x you, Multi, Murder, Pain, TLOU, TLOU2, The Last of Us - Freeform, the last of us 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormie92/pseuds/stormie92
Summary: Joel and Ellie witness you dying by the hands of a woman with a braid. Neither can do anything during . . . maybe after?
Relationships: Dina and Jesse, Ellie Williams x reader, Ellie and Dina - Relationship, Joel Miller x Reader, Tommy Miller x Joel Miller
Series: The Last of Us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852168
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Have not written anything in awhile and now I want to start to again. 
> 
> Um, this is the first TLOU fic I have ever done. If you would like more, tell me? I am up for prompts or anything. Thanks!!! <3

He did not want you to leave.  
He begged.  
Pleaded.   
Screamed.

"Get the FUCK up!" Ellie yelled from across the room as she struggled to break free from the assholes holding her to the ground.

Joel's eyes met yours "Y/N, get up, baby, get up!"

Blood started to spread on the wooden floor. A red river making its way to Joel and Ellie.

Ellie and Joel knew that you wouldn't get up. You couldn't. All the strength you had left. You were tired, so, so, so tired. 

Ellie softly, trying to control her anger and horror, said "Please, you don't need to do this. We can fix this . . . " 

Joel, who wanted to control his voice but couldn't, growled "I will fucking kill you! Let Y/N go, they didn't do a damn thing. . ."

The woman with the braid smirked at the two yelling and begging for your life. 

"No" she spoke "they did. And they deserve what is coming. Make sure they watch" she told her friends. She lifted the golf club up above her head . . . 

Ellie felt sick and dizzy.

Joel, still staring at you, let out a whimper "Please, you don't need to do this. Please, don't. Y/N, get up, baby . . ."

You were in and out of consciousness. You heard everything Joel and Ellie said, how they wanted to save you. Tears mixed with the blood that coated your face. The pain began to blur your vision so within what you knew would be your final minutes, you focused as best you could on Joel. You noticed he was crying . . . it broke your heart. You mouthed, or at least THOUGHT you mouthed "I love you" to him. You swore you saw him say it back. 

When the world went to shit, you didn't have anything to live for. You met Ellie and Joel . . . and they saved you. Joel was who you thought of when you woke up in the morning, in the middle of the day and the last thing you thought of when you fell asleep. You made sure that he was the last one you saw as you closed your eyes forever. Engraving him into your memory. Take it to the grave and hope that if there was a Heaven, you could remember every little thing. His smile. His eyes. The lines on his face that you found handsome. His scars. His touch. His scent. A human map of the man you loved.

The woman swung the club down onto your head. A sickening crack echoed through the room as your skull caved in with the impact. Blood splatted the woman and her friends who stood close by. An even bigger pool of blood began to seep from your new wound. She tossed the gold club to the ground and stormed off, her friends following except for two. 

Ellie bellowed "Fuck, fuck, I WILL FUCKING FIND YOU ASSHOLES! You are fucking dead! I will fuckin kill you all!" 

The men who stayed behind split, one stood in front of Ellie and the other in front of Joel. 

Ellie groaned as the one man hit her unconscious.

Joel, even though he had witnessed so much loss and bloodshed throughout the years, felt himself get nauseous. Another piece of him gone. He felt cold again. Numbness setting in. Murmuring "I . . . will . . . find you."

And with those last words, the man who stood in front of him, kicked him until Joel passed out.

Dina, Jesse and Tommy found the three of you. Dina and Jessie ran to Ellie. Tommy to Joel.

Dina and Jesse apologized to Ellie. 

Joel's eyes fluttered open. His head hurting. Tommy said "Joel, I am so sorry". Joel's eyes began to drift over to your body.

"No, no, no, Joel? Joel, don't . . . Don't do that" Tommy quietly cried out.

Joel did not listen and for the first time in years cried out loudly. 

"No, Y/N, please, baby, wake up. . . . for me. . . and Ellie."

Tommy began to lift Joel off the ground "Come on, Joel, we gotta go."

Joel's eyes went back to your lifeless body. 

Tommy hugged his brother "Joel, we will get their body. They will be buried at home . . . we ain't leaving them here."

"Thank you, Tommy. . ." he whimpered.

Ellie stood up with the help of Jesse. Her eyes met Joel's. Their eyes shared the same dead look . . . they need not speak what they thought because they both already knew. Together they would find your murderers and finish them. They were going to kill every last one of them . . . 

Before leaving the building, Joel turned as he watched Tommy's men who followed not far behind Tommy, Jesse and Dina, pick your lifeless body up and place it on a makeshift stretcher. Quietly, so, so quietly, he whispered "I love you, Y/N . . . I will never forget you."

Deep down, he hoped that somehow you and Sarah found each other. He wanted both of the people he loved together . . . watching over him. Still, deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to be with the two of you. He couldn't leave though, not yet, he still had Ellie and he would never leave her like that. 

Until his time came, he would live for you, Sarah and Ellie. 

Until his time came, he would seek retribution.


	2. Broken in Seattle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Ellie are in Seattle looking for the WLF. Ellie and Joel get a little personal, he admits something sad and she talks about Dina.

Tommy tried to talk Joel out it but knew that Joel would never listen.   
Tommy said to Maria "That man is so stubborn that makes a bull seem reasonable."  
"I am not disagreeing with that but he did lose Y/N . . . You'd do the same for me."  
Tommy stood looking out the window, groaning, and turning to his wife "You got me there. I would."  
Ellie packed her backpack, grabbed her gun and switchblade, left a note for Dina and went to Joel's house in the middle of the night. She entered the house and met with Joel who waited for her in the kitchen. "You ready?" she asked.  
"I am, Ellie" he stood and pushed his chair in. "Listen, Ellie . . . you don't need to come with-"  
She interrupted "I want to, Joel. Y/N . . I loved Y/N."  
"I know you did. And Y/N loved you, so much" he felt himself wanting to breakdown. "I just know that we are not where we use to be, ya know?"  
She nodded "I want us to be good. After seeing what we saw with Y/N . . . I don't want to hold a grudge. I thought long and hard about why you guys did it . . . and I get it now. Just wish I could tell Y/N that."  
Joel walked to Ellie and wrapped his arms around her "Y/N knows, baby girl."  
Ellie returned the gesture "I don't wanna lose you too, Joel."  
"You ain't, kiddo. I ain't planning on going anywhere."  
Ellie and Joel set out for Seattle to find the WLF.   
“You sure that's who they are?” Ellie asked.  
“Yeh, I am. Their clothing, the patches . . . and they mentioned it at one point.”  
“Huh, alright.”  
“You were in and out of it, mighta’ missed it.”  
“Yeh” was all Ellie said back.  
________________________________  
“Ellie, is that generator working?”   
“No, fuck . . it is out of gas.”  
“Alright. That's alright. You said a note mentioned gas nearby?”  
Ellie took the note out and skimmed through it “Over in that building” she pointed.   
“Let’s get going.”  
Joel jumped over the fence first and when Ellie made her leap, he grabbed her carefully by her shoulder and put his index finger to his lips “Infected.”  
Ellie went to the left while Joel went right to take the two runners out they saw. They moved slow through the grass and crouched down “That’s a lot, Joel.”  
“Yeh, we’ve taken out bigger crowds though. You ready?”  
She took out her switchblade and nodded “Always ready.”  
Ellie took out a few runners that did not detect. She crouched down and started to get closer to a clicker. Joel, from the corner of his eye watched, as he took down the runners that were on his side. The clicker turned in Ellie’s direction and screeched, sending chills down her spine. Ellie had no time to really react when the clicker lunged towards her.  
“Fuck!” she screamed out.   
Another clicker started to work its way towards Ellie and its friend. Joel pulled out his revolver and aimed for the head of the clicker that was trying to get a taste of Ellie’s flesh. He pulled the trigger and hit it, blood splattered onto her face and Joel heard her growl. He turned his attention to the other clicker who became interested in him, waited for it to sprint towards him and then planted a bullet right in its head.   
He walked hastily over to where Ellie sat on the ground.   
“You good, kiddo?” he extended a hand and she took it.  
“Been through worse but still gross to be covered in that things blood. They make my skin fuckin’ crawl.”  
“That they do” he added while he wiped a little blood off of her face.   
“Why so many infected? If people were still here . . it’d be cleared.”  
“No idea. Let’s get going.”  
They entered into the synagogue.   
“Oh whoa, Dina would love this place.”  
“Oh yeh?” Joel questioned.  
“Mhm! She told me about her family and Jewish traditions. She isn’t a full blown believer but she still loves this stuff.”   
“Huh, didn’t know that about her. Good for her” Joel smiled while he searched around the building. Spotting the room with the gas in it, he made his way over. He placed the gas can under the spout and turned it only to be discouraged.  
“Goddamn it!”  
Ellie yelled out from the other side “Language, Joel! House of worship here.”  
Joel snickered “You’re funny, kid.”  
“Psht, I know I am” she grinned “umm, we can try this garage? Might be gas there. It is at the courthouse.”  
“Alright, let’s find it.”  
They made their way out to an exit but before leaving Ellie made a last second decision. She broke a piece of the stained glass from the window and wrapped it up in a bandana she had with her, carefully placing it in her bag. Joel stood, saying nothing, and watched her. Ellie spun of her heels and their eyes met.  
“Don’t.”  
“I ain’t saying anything.”  
“You’re thinking, Joel.”  
“Ellie . . .”  
“Joel. Let’s go” she jumped down from the ledge and he followed.   
“She’ll like it” he commented.  
“Think so?”  
“Know so. Might be a tad insulted you broke the window but still, it’s a nice gift.”  
Climbing back on top of Shimmer, Joel softly asked “Is she your girlfriend?”  
Ellie gulped and felt her heart begin to race. She remained silent.  
“You don’t need to tell me, it’s fine. Just know that I will love you no matter what.”  
She rested her head on his back “She is . . .”  
“You love her?”  
“I do.”  
He smiled “She’s lucky to have you, El. And you are lucky to have her. When we get back to Jackson . . . never let her go. Okay?”  
“Isn’t this the part where you mention if she breaks my heart you’ll end her?”  
He snorted “She’s a lady, Ellie. I won’t be making the threats . . . directly. I’ll have Maria do that.”  
“Aw man . . . please don’t.”  
________________________________________________  
“Shimmer, stay here girl” Ellie whispered to Shimmer as she ran her hand across Shimmer’s face. Joel had found an entrance into the courthouse so they climbed in.  
“More infected.”   
It took only a few minutes and the floor was cleared. Ellie looked around “Ever been to an actual courthouse? Like in trouble, I mean.”  
“Ain’t your business” Joel squinted, planning their next move.  
“That’s totally a yes.”  
Opening the doors of the elevator was the easy part. The hardest part? The load of infected that started to sprint their way towards Ellie and Joel. They had each others backs the whole time. Joel grabbed the runner that snuck its way to Ellie and Ellie cut the throat of the clicker that found its way to Joel.  
“Clear.”  
“Good, man, that was a little intense.”  
Finding the gas tank, they turned it on and sighed in relief when it started to fill their can.   
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”  
_____________________________________________________________  
Opening the gate, the duo made their way towards the base.   
“Joel? I think Shimmer is getting sick.”  
“Huh? How can you tell?”  
Ellie grinned “She’s sounding a little hoarse.”  
Joel grunted.  
“I’m funny, Joel, remember that. Said it yourself.”  
“I lied” he told her.   
“Bullshit.”  
_________________________  
A loud explosion.   
Joel and Ellie were tossed off the horse.   
Ellie rolled and disappeared.  
“Ellie!” Joel screamed.  
“You, get the girl! And you go see if you can see anymore assholes wandering around” a man ordered. Joel was in pain from the harsh landing but started to pull himself towards his rifle. The man stepped on his fingers and rolled Joel over with force.  
“Holy shit” the man laughed at Joel “you’re from Jackson? When we killed your friend. How did you find us?”  
Joel glared into the mans eyes.   
“Not gonna answer? That’s fine” he kicked Joel unconscious.   
Joel’s head was pounding.  
“He’s waking up” another voice spoke.  
“How’d you find us?”  
“Asked around.”  
“Oh? How many more are there? Just you and the other person or?”  
He shook his head “You can’t stop this.”  
“Alright, I’m done with this shit.”  
“Isaac said we need them alive.”  
“Fuck what Isaac said” the man replied with anger as he raised his gun to Joel’s head. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Ellie shot through the glass and hit the man in the head. His friend yelled and started to shoot up at the glass which resulted in Ellie falling into the building. The man race over, kicked her in the stomach, crawled on top of her and began to strangle her. Joel saw Ellie panic while her hand felt around for anything to be used as a weapon. Acting quickly, Joel kicked over a piece of glass and freed his hands that were tied. He retrieved the glass and jumped at the man on Ellie, slicing his throat open.   
“You okay?”  
Ellie rubbed her throat “I’m fine. We need to hurry, Joel.”  
Joel searched the man and found a letter with photos “That’s them.”  
“Good, great. Let’s go!” 

Other members of the WLF came into the building and surrounded the two of them. They fought their way out, made their way onto the roof and jumped over to the next house.   
“We’re safe now” Joel exhaled.  
“Show me the letter?”  
Joel hand Ellie the letter and photos. She retrieved the map and pointed “There. We can find this Leah chick. Get her to talk.”  
“Sounds good” he folded it all up and placed it into his bag.   
“You sure you’re good, Joel?”  
“Ellie . . . I’m fine.”  
“You know, Joel, you don’t gotta be so tough all the time with me. Break down, cry, scream . . . I’m here for you.”  
He looked down at the ground “I am damn well broken into a few thousand pieces, again.”  
Ellie sighed sadly “I know, Joel.”

“I just wish things were different, but they ain’t.”  
“I do too . . .”  
“Part of me wishes it was me, Ellie and that might sound stupid or may even be something I shouldn’t have said to you, but Jesus . . . It shoulda been me.”  
Ellie hugged him “I get that, I do. I really, really do. It’s just that Y/N wouldn’t want that either. Y/N and I would be doing what you and I are doing right now. Or You and Y/N if it was me. It’s a cycle . . a fucked cycle, ya know? But . . . I . . . .” she paused to think. Joel wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back when he heard her sniffle.  
She resumed talking “I wish it never happened. I hate how it was Y/N. I’m glad it wasn’t you though, too. Y/N, would never have wanted you gone. Y/N would want you living. Kicking ass . . . and protecting me. So that’s that.”  
He rested his head on top of hers “I understand what you’re sayin’ and you’re right.”  
“Normally am” she whimpered.   
“Y/N loved us.”  
“I know.”  
“So, let’s go get these bastards.”  
“Fuck shit up?”  
“No other way.”


End file.
